IsleSong Series

Islesong Book 2 - The Girl who Loved the Whales

Singer of Sea-Dragons. A terrible secret possesses her soul. Yet, the journey into darkness has barely begun. For the powers of nightsong, of dread and terror and pain, have laid claim upon the life-current of a girl with a matchless gift.

’Twas the current of terror we sailed that daysong,Like a Sea-Dragon’s heart was its pulse.

Myriad dangers lurk across the long leagues. Pirates. Treacherous Battlecats. A Hunter from the Deep and a city besieged by Sea-Dragons. The combative Bardsong of a mighty War-Titan–what are his wicked plans for her? With strength born of love, Zhialeiana must conquer all.

Now, her journey has begun. Betrayed at every turn, can the Girl who Sang with Whales learn to sing a new Song? Can she save the Whales she loves?

Islesong News - Jan 2017

I have completed drafting the second volume in the IsleSong series, The Girl who Loved the Whales! (At long last) The second book is essentially a redemption journey, taking Zhialeiana from a place of terrible darkness to a brighter future. I am hoping to release this book in late February 2017.

Here's a little taster for you:

’Twas the current of terror we sailed that daysong,

Like a Sea-Dragon’s heart was its pulse.

Myriad dangers lurk across the long leagues. Pirates. Treacherous
Battlecats. A Hunter from the Deep and a city besieged by Sea-Dragons. The
combative Bardsong of a mighty War-Titan–what are his wicked plans for her? With
strength born of love, Zhialeiana must conquer all.

Now, her journey has begun. Betrayed at every turn, can the
Girl who Sang with Whales learn to sing a new Song? Can she save the Whales she
loves?

I'm also pleased to report that drafting of the 3rd book in this series is progressing well. More news on that soon!

Second Edition Released!

I'm delighted to announce the release of the 2nd Edition volume of The Girl who Sang with Whales, which is for me, a return to a beloved world of poetry, song and
ever-restless oceanic vistas that hide many secrets, both cetacean and draconic.
Having grown up in Cape Town with the ocean at my doorstep, this is a story
which has always been close to my heart.

This revised and expanded 2nd edition lays essential
groundwork for later books in the series. While I’ve made over 6,500 individual
changes to the 1st edition text, the key change comes at the end of
Chapter 29. After nearly three years of consideration, I excised the final
three chapters of the first edition (Chapters 30 to 32) and replaced them with a
different, and I feel improved, resolution that so many loyal readers requested.
This effectively eliminates the original cliff-hanger ending.

If you purchased the first edition you should receive an email from Amazon with an updated file for your device, or you'll be able to send it to your device from your Amazon dashboard.

The IsleSong series, as planned, now links in closely with the world of Aranya, Dragonfriend and The Pygmy Dragon - you may already have noticed from certain shared features of the world-building.

About IsleSong

A story for anyone who loves the ocean and its whales, salt water in their hair, and the gentle rasp of beach sand between their bare toes. This story will transport you to a beautiful, unspoiled ocean world where people have to rely on Whales to travel between the islands. A world where danger can, and does, lurk beneath any wave.

I sang to the Sea; She sang back to me,

Tales and travails wreathed in mystery.

Imagine an island world where the seas seethe with dangerous creatures, where those rare men and women called Bard-Navigators have learned to sing Whales to protect their ships. Only on the wings of Bardsong can ships avoid the Sea-Dragons and travel the great gulf between the Atolls scattered across the World-Sea.Zhialeiana has an astonishing gift of song. She can sing the unique songs of the mighty and magical creatures of the World-Sea. She can touch their souls. When her gift is discovered at her mother's funeral, the current of her life begins to sweep her to a future that she could never have imagined. She must navigate both opportunity and danger, and lay her life on the line for the Whales she loves. But Zhialeiana also has a toxic secret - a secret that will force her to undertake a journey beyond faith, beyond all hope, and beyond the World-Sea.

Inspiration

A chance conversation with a car passenger provided the germ of the idea for IsleSong. My sources of inspiration this story combine my love of the ocean, having grown up in beautiful Cape Town, a concern for the environment, and the Chris Tomlin song 'Indescribable'.

Future developments

I am currently working on appendices for IsleSong to delve deeper into the mythology, geography, and inner workings of this world. They will accompany a possible second edition of the first book in this series, or with the planned second part - plotted and planned in detail while camping at Lake Langano in Ethiopia, looking out over the huge expanse of the lake and watching fish eagles and hornbills fly by ...

29 comments:

I wish I had a date! I'm hoping for 2016 but I've a few series to finish in this time. Currently the plan is The Onyx Dragon in quarter 1, Dragonsoul in Q2 and Aranya #3 in Q3. As I noted above I'm intending to publish a second edition of IsleSong #1 during this time, paving the way for the second part. I'm longing to return to the ocean world of this series.

I left you a note about this in general contact. But dear god Marc you left us with a cliff hanger! The is one of you best for me anyway. But hurry I can't leave Zhialeiana like this for long!! Hurry and complete this series!

I have read and loved all of your dragon series so far, but I must say this is my favorite. I truly hope that you will be able to repub this (as you mentioned above) so that you can release the second book during 2016. Quite the cliff hanger.

I mind too! I wish I could bring these volumes out even faster, but it's a balance between quantity and quality. Stories also need time to 'mature' in my mind and editing to be as strong and consistent as possible.

So as I said, I'm thinking parallel and writing Riika's story as a kind of tie-in ... still planning this piece.

I have to ask, is the Sea witch Numenstar? The second book said she is a "fallen star" and that sea dragons are copies of her so I figured she has to be a star dragon. And when does Islesong take place in relation to your dragon books?

Can you please stop saying turns? It's so confusing. Sometimes it means an hour and sometimes it means a minute.So I hope your already planning the dragons of sea and sky. Please. I'm not patient. And Istariela!!!!!!! I have to be honest, I guessed a couple of pages early. But it's so incredible I nearly cried.

Ooh, good questions. Islesong #4 aka Dragons of Sea and Sky needs some serious planning first. I'd like to finish Aranya and Pip's timeline now. I think people have waited for that one long enough! I'm hoping I can unstick that volume from my writing brain and get it done. I'm in a better space now writing-wise so I think that should be more than possible.